Machine for packaging pie plates and similar articles



Aug. 16, 1932. B. R. WILLIAMSON MACHINE FOR PACKAGING PIE PLATES ANDSIMILAR ARTICLES Filed Aug. 16, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet l I lnvenTor. Ber?R. Williamson ATTy s.

Aug. 16, 1932- B. R. WILLIAMSON MACHINE FOR PACKAGING PIE PLATES ANDSIMILAR ARTICLES Filed Aug. 16, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 i as ' \nvenfor.

BerT RWiHiomson Aug. 16, 1932. B. R. WILLIAMSON MACHINE FOR PACKAGINGPIE PLATES AND SIMILAR ARTICLES Filed Aug. 16, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Saw n .W/ k .\\\\\x 0 I EEEE v s r A 3 W M M a R m ......||||||||I- v I II l I 1 .Tnl a V/ b N B w. 3 ww w g mq mm A w g E225:wu l -%A\ l lll 3:8 w m 5: mm W J. A 3 Wr/WZr/YWWWMMf/Il/ v. .7 i mm w 3 16, 1932- B. R.WILLIAMSON 1,871,765

MACHINE FOR PACKAGfNG PIE PLATES AND SIMILAR ARTICLES Filed Aug. 16,1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 InvenTor.

Befl R. Williamson b 7e aawt MyW 1932- I B. R, WILLIAMSON 7 1,871,765

MACHINE PACKAGING PIE PLATES AND SIMILAR ARTICLES Filed Aug. 16, 1928 5Sheets-Sheet 5 \nvenTm:

86 T R.Wiiiiumson ATTys.

Patented Aug. 16, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BERT R. WILLIAMSON,OF WATERVILLE, MAINE, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE' ASSIGNMENTS,

T FIDELITY TRUST COMPANY, OF PORTLAND, MAINE, A CORPORATION TRUSTEE 0FMAINE,

MACHINE FOB PACKAGING PIE PLATES AND SIMILAR ARTICLES- Applieation filedAugust 16, 1928. Serial No. 299,950.

. been specially designed for use in bundling and sealing packages ofpaper plates and similar articles.

Some of the features of the machine are similar to the constructionsshown in the Keyes Patent No. 921,256, dated May 11th, 1909, and theWVilliamson Patent No. 1,401,-

i 298, dated December 27th, 1921.

These patents show machines for bundling and wrapping a stack of pieplates and said machines are constructed to take a pile or stack ofplates and align them and then to compact them into a firm solid rolland to retain them in this condition until the wrapping material hasbeen placed around the roll and binding twine also tied around the rollfrom one end to the other to retain the roll of plates in their compactcondition.

per and the latter does not cover the plates at the end of the bundle,said plates being exposed. As a result these end plates be-.

come soiled during the handlin of the package and, therefore, have to bediscarded.

One of the objects of my present invention is to provide improvements inmachines of the type illustrated in said patents by which the package ofplates can be bundled and wrapped in such a way that no plates will beexposed in the wrapped bundle.

The machine herein shown is provided with means somewhat similar to themechanism illustrated in the above-mentioned patents for aligning andcompacting a stack of plates, except that the binding twine is tiedaround the stack of plates before any wrapping paper is applied. Afterthe stack of plates has been compressed and tied then a wrapping paperis placed around the tied bundle and subsequently disks of paper areapplied to the ends of the bundle to cover the end plates and theperipheral portions of the disks are folded over against the side wallsof the bundle and caused to adhere thereto thereby sealing the ends ofthe bundle.

The bundle is thus entirely sealed and can be handled freely withoutdanger of any of the plates becoming soiled or injured. In order to givean understanding of the invention 1 have illustrated in the drawings aselected embodiment thereof which will now be described after which thenovel features will be claims.

Fig. 1 is a section on a reduced scale on the line 11, Fig. 3 showingthe mechanism for sealing the ends of the bundle;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the machine illustrating the means forcompacting the stack of plates; Y J i Fig. 3 is an end view of Fig. 2looking toward the left;

Figs. 4 and 5 are sections on the line 44, Fig. 3, showing the operationof the folding jaws for sealing the end of the package;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged section on the line 66, Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 77, Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8-8, Fig. 1;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing the sealed bundle;

Fig. 10 is a view illustrating the shape of the disk which is used toseal the end of the bundle;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of one of the folding jaws.

Before describing the machine I will refer briefly to the sealed bundlewhich is made on the machine. As stated above this machine has beenspecially designed for bundling paper or fibre plates, and a stack ofplates, say five hundred or so, are placed in alignment to make a rollindicated at 1 in Fig. 9 and this package of plates is then compactedlongitudinally and tied with binding twine 2 which extendslongitudinally thereof so as to retain the stack of plates in theircompacted condition. A wrapping paper or other wrapping material 3 isthen wrapped around the tied bundle of plates and if desired the meetingedges of the wrapping material 2 may be secured together by .a strip 21of gummed paper which extends longitudinally 9f the bundle and overliesthe meeting edges of the wrapping material. The

pointed out in the appended ends of thebundle are then sealed by paperheads or disks such as shown at 5 in Fig. 10. 'lhese are applied to theends otthc package over the binding twine 2 and the peripheral portionsof the disks are then folded down against the side walls of the packageas shown at 6 in Fig. 9. i will -irel'erably make the peripheral portionof these disks with notches 7 asshown in Fig. l so as to i'acili: tatethis folding operation and the said peripheral portion of the disk willalso preferably be provided with a gunnned or adhesive surface so thatthe peripheral portion (3 of the scaling disks will adhere to the. wallsof the bundle when they are folded against them.

In a bundle thus made the plates 1 are v held under compression by thebinding twine 2 and the wrapper 3 and the disks 5 completely cover andseal the bundle of plates so that the bundle can be handlcdfreelywithout danger of soiling any plates.

The machine herein shown comprises a framework or stand 8 on which ismounted mechanism somewhat similar to that shown in the above-mentionedpatents and which is adapted toalign the stack of plates and compact'it-endwise while the binding twine is applied and while the wrappingmaterial 3 is applied, and on which is also mounted the mechanism forapplying the scaling disks 5 for sealing the ends of the bundle.

The mechanism for compacting the bundle and which is similar to thatshown in the, above-mentioned patents comprises two supporting bars f)on which the stack of plates is supported, and two heads 10 and 11movable relative to each other and adapted to compress the stack ofplates lengthwise.

The head 10 .is shown as fixed in position.

and the head 11 is carried by a stem 12 which slides in a support 13carried by the frame 8.

The head 11 is given its operative movement 'from' the full to thedotted line position by means of an actuating lever 14 pivoted at 15 tothe support 13 and connected to the head 11 by a link 16.

The supporting bars 9 are mounted on arms 17 which ar fast on shafts 18journalled in hearings in the frame 8, said shafts being connected byintermeshing gears 19. This construction is provided so as to permit thesupporting bars 9 to be adjusted into a position to properly support thestack of plates with relation to the heads 10 and 11 and it enables themachine to operate equally well on plates of different sizes. Thismechanism for compressing the stack or pile of plates is similar to thatillustrated in the above-mentioned Patent No. 1,401,298 and hence neednot be further described herein.

In the operation of the parts above described the wrapping paper 3 willfirst be placed on the bars 9 and then the binding twine 2 will be laidon the wrapping paper and laid into grooves formed in the faces of theheads 10 and 11 as described in the above mentioned patents, after whichthe required number of plates 1 will be placed in position on the bars9. The lever 1.4 is then actuated to move the head 11 forwardly from thefull to the dotted line position thereby subjecting the pile of platesto endwise compression and lirmly compressing them into a compactbundle. While the plates are still under compression the binding twine 2will be tied around the. bundle. to maintain it in its compactedcondition and the wrapping paper 3 is then wrapped around the bundle.The wrapping paper 3 may conveniently be of a size so that when it iswrapped around the bundle the edges 20 thereof will overlap as shown inFig. 3. The strip 21 of gummod paper is then applied to the overlappingedges to maintain them in proper position and to maintain a tight joint.

This sealing strip 21 may be applied in any suitable way. I have hereinshown for this purpose a device indicated at 22 such as is in common usein stores and other locations for delivering a strip of gunnned paper tobe used in sealing bundles. This device 22 is movably mounted on a track23 and is normally held in its rearward position through the medium of acounterweight 24. When the side seam of the package is to be scaled themagazine device 22 is moved for- ,et'vardly into the dotted lineposition, in which position it will be automatically retained by meansof a latch 25 that is carried on the end of a lever 26 pivoted to themagazine, the lower end of the latch running up an inclined surface 27and then dropping into a notch 28.

When the magazine 22 is in the. dotted line position the operative pullsofi the gummed strip 21 therefrom and applies it to the side seam of thepackage, it being understood that the device 22 is of the type whichmoistens the gummed strip as it is withdrawn. The device 22 is providedwith the usual cutter which is actuated by a finger piece 29 and thisfinger piece is arranged so that as it is depressed to operate thecutter it will actuate the lever 26 and thus raise the latch 25 from thenotch 28 thus releasing the magazine 22 and allowing it to movebackwardly from the full to the dotted line position under the influenceof the weight 24. p

The track23 is mounted .-for vertical adjustment by means of suitableadjusting screws 30 in order to permit the magazine 22 to be given itsproper position for difierent sizes of plates.

After the package of plates has been thus tied and wrapper with thewrapping paper 3 then it is transferred from the supporting bars 9 onwhich it has been supported up to this time to the end-sealing mechanismwhich is supported on the frame 8 in the rear of the compactingmechanism above described.

This end-sealing mechanism is shown in Fig. 1 and at the right in Figs.3 and 6 and also in some detail in Figs. 4 5 and 7. It comprises acradle 31 supported on the frame 8 and adapted to receive the bundle ofplates while the-ends are being scaled, and two heads each adapted toapply a sealing disk 5 to one end of the bundle and to fold theperipheral portion of the sealing disk over against the side wall of thebundle.

The cradle 31 is preferably mounted for vertical adjustment so that itcan be placed in position to accommodate plates of different sizes. Thiscradle is shown as hav ng guiding pins 32 depending therefrom WlllCllare guided in openings formed in bosses 33 carried by the frame 8 andthe vertical adjustment is secured through ad usting nuts 34 whichengage the frame 8 and are screwthreaded to pins 35 depending from thecradle.

The two heads for applying the sealing disks 5 are indicated generallyat 36 and 37 and inasmuch as they are both substantially alike adescription of one will suflice. The construction of these heads is bestseen in Figs. 4 and 5. Each is mountedpn a carriage 38 which isadjnstably carried by the frame 8, each carriage being slidable in ways39 formed on the frame 8 and being provided with a nut 40 which hasscrew threaded engagement with an adjusting screw 41 that is journalledin the frame 8 and is provided with a hand wheel 42 by which it may beturned. Each head comprises a plurality of folding jaws 43 which arepivotally mounted at 44 to the arms of a spider 45. This spider isslidably mounted on a sleeve 46 which telescopes into another sleeve 47that in turn has a telescopic relation with the carriage 38.

Each folding jaw 43 is connected by a link 48 to a collar 49 that ismounted on the end 50 of the sleeve 47. Since the spider is slidablymounted on the sleeve 4-6 it will be apparent that by reason of thelinks 48 a rela tive movement of the spider 45 and collar toward andfrom each other will cause the folding jaws 43 to turn about theirpivots 44.

51 is a spring which encircles the sleeve 46 and is confined between thespider 45 and an annular rib 52 on said sleeve 46, said spring tendingnormallyto force the spider 45 away from the rib 52 and, thus to holdthe folding jaws in their open position shown in Fig. 4.

The lower folding jaws- 43 are provided with a disk-supporting ledge 53on which the disk 5 may be placed as shown in Fig. 4. Each head also isprovided with a presser member 54 adapted to engage the disk 5 and pressit firmly against the end of the bundle at the time that the foldingjaws operate to fold the peripheral portion of the disk over onto theside walls of the bundle. Each presser member 43 is yieldingly carriedby the head and this is herein accomplished by providing each pressermember with a stem 55 which is slidable within the sleeve 46 and whichis backed by a spring 56 which is situated within said sleeve andengages at one end said stem 55 and at the other end a plug or abutment57 situated within the sleeve 46. The stem 55" is provided with the slot58 through which passes a pin 59 carried by the sleeve 46, said pin andslot limiting the movement of the presser. member 54 relative to thefolding aws.

The sleeve 46 is provided at its rear end with a stem 60 which extendsthrough and beyond the carriage 38 and is provided at its end withadjustable check nuts 61, the purpose, of which will beopresentlydescribed.

As stated above the heads 36 and 37 are movable from their rearwardinoperative position such as shown in Fig. 4 into-their operativeposition shown in Fig.5 and during such movement the end disk 5 ispressed against the end of the bundle and the folding jaws 43 areoperated to fold the peripheral portion 62 of the disk over onto theside of the bundle.

The forward movement of each head is accomplished by moving the sleeve47 to the left in Fig. 4. The means by which the heads are operated willbe presently described.

Then each head 36, 37 is in its operative position the folding jaws willbe open. as shown in Fig. 4 and during the initial movement of each headfrom its inoperative to its operative position the various parts willmove as a unit, the folding jaws remaining in their open position. Asthe head moves forward the disk 5 is carried against the end of thebundle 1 and during continued movement the folding jaws will give theperipheral portion 62 of the disk an initial folding movement and thepresser member 54 will be brought against the disk thus firmly pressingit against the end of the bundle as shown in Fig. 5. As the sleeve 47continues its forward movement the jaws will move forwardly relativelyto the presser disk 54 and the spring 56 will be placed undercompression. The sleeves 46 and 47 will continue to move forward as aunit until the corners 63 of the bundle engage the inclined walls 64 ofthe folding jaws, at which time the jaws and the spider 45 will beprevented from further forward movement.

Continued movement of the sleeves 46 and 47 will operate through thelinks 48 to rock the jaws about their pivots 44 thus pressing theperipheral portion 62 of the disk 5 firmly against the side walls of thebundle. This portion 62 will preferably be provided with a coating ofadhesive material so that when it is clamped against the bundle it willadhere thereto thereby efiectively sealing the end of the bundle. Thecheck nuts 61'serve' to limit the extent to which the sleeves 46 and 47can move forward.

The means for operating the head 37 comprises an actuating lever 640having a right angular portion 65 and pivoted to the carriage at 66.This portion 65 of the lever is connected by links 67 to the enlargedportion 68 of the sleeve 47 so that when the ever is swung from the-full line position shown in Fig. l to the dotted line position saidsleeve 47 and the head 37 will consequently be moved forwardly therebyperforming the end-scaling operations above described.

The right angular portion 65 and the link 67 form in eli'ect a togglejoint which is straightened when the actuating lever is thrown intooperative position as shown in Fig. 5 whereby the head will be locked inits end-sealing position.

Means are provided whereby the head 36 will be actuated simultaneouslywith the head 37 and for this purpose I have provided the followingmechanism.

The lever 640 is provided with an extension 68 to which is pivoted oneend of a link 69, the other end of said link being connected to a slide70 which is slidably mounted on a rocking lever 71 that extendslongitudinally of the machineand is pivoted centrally at 72 to asupporting bracket 73 carried. b the frame 8. This carriage 70 is formedwit a projection 74 which operates in a slot 75 formed in a bracket 76which is secured to and depends from the carriage 38. When the lever 640is moved from the full to-the dotted line position Fig. 1 the downwardswinging movement of the extension 68 will operate through the link 69to depress the right hand end of the lever 71 thus carrying the leverfrom the full to the dotted line position Fig. 1. The other or left handend of the lever 71 has a thrust member 77 pivoted thereto to the upperend of which is pivoted two links 78 and 79. The link 78 is pivotallyconnected at 80 to the carriage 38 on which the head 36 is mounted andthe other link 79 is pivotally connected at 81 to the enlarged portion68 of the sleeve 47 of said head 36. Hence when the lever 71 is rockedinto the dotted line position Fig. 1 the upward movement of the lefthand end of said lever will throw the links 78, 79 into the dotted lineposition and thus move the head 38 forwardly, such forward movementresulting in applying the sealing disk 5 to the left hand end of thebundle 1 all as described with reference to Figs. 4 and 5.

The function of the sliding carriage 70 and the slot 75 is to providefor equalizing the movement of the two heads 36, 37. During the initialturning movement of the lever 640 the head 37 will have a maximum rateof speed for any angular movement of the lever and as the leverapproaches the dotted line I of plates.

position the movement of the head will slow up relative to the angularmovement of the lever because the link 67 and the arm 65 are approachinga. straight line position. Since the carriage 7 O is guided in theinclined slot 75 it follows that as the lever 71 is swung from the fullto the dotted line position the carriage will be moved toward the end ofthe lever thereby lengthening the lever arm. Consequently the rate atwhich the lever 71 moves downwardly will be greatest during its initialmovement and will gradually decrease as it approaches the dotted lineposition. Hence the head 36 will have substantially the same relativespeed as the head 37.

The carriage 38- on which the head 36 is mounted is slidably supportedin ways 82 in a supporting plate 83, the latter being slidable in ways84 carried by the frame 8 and having a nut 40 through which is threadedthe adjusting screw 41. The supporting plate 83 is provided with abracket 85 which forms a backing for a spring 86 that is interposedbetween said bracket and the carriage 38. Said carriage has a rod 87rigid therewith which extends through the bracket and is provided withadjusting nuts 88, this rod limiting the spring impelled movement of thecarriage. The spring 81 forms a buffer or cushion which allows thecarriage 38 to give or yield in case the bundle of plates being acted onis somewhat longer than normal.

In the operation of the machine the operator will place the wrappingpaper, string and stack of plates on the supporting bars 9 and will thenactuate the head 11 to com press the stack of plates end wise and willtie the binding twine 2 around the compressed stack of plates and thenwrap them in the wrapping material 3, all as above described.

The wrapped bundle of plates is then transferred to the cradle 31 andthe two disks 5 are placed on the disk-holding ledges 53 of the heads.The lever 640 is then actuated to apply the disks to-the ends of thebundle and seal the latter. After the operator has thrown the lever 640into the dotted line position thereby to apply the sealing disks to theend of the bundle he will leave the lever in this position so that theclamping pressure on the sealing disks will be maintained while he isbundling and wrapping a second stack When the second stack of plates hasbeen tied with binding twine and wrapped with the wrapping paper 3 thenthe lever 640 may be thrown back into its full line position therebywithdrawing the heads 36, 37 from the bundle and the latter may bedischarged from the cradle 31 while the second bundle is shifted to saidcradle for the purpose of having the ends thereof sealed. In this waythe adhesive on the peripheral portion of the disks 5 will be allowedtime to set I have provided a lifting device for lift-- .ing the sealedbundle from the cradle 31.

This comprises two lifting fingers 89 which are situated at either endof the cradle and are carried by a bar 90. The latter is connected by alink 91 to a lever 92 which is pivoted at 93 to a fixed arm 94depending, from the frame 8. This lever 92 is connected by a link 95with a treadle lever 96 which is pivoted at 97 to another fixed bracketarm 98 that depends fromthe frame. The end 99 of the lever 96 is inposition to be actuated by the foot and when it is depressed into thedotted line position the result will be the elevation of the liftingfingers 89 as'shown by dotted lines. In this way the sealed bundle maybe lifted from the cradle and brought into position where it can bereadily removed.

I claim 1. In a device of the class described, the combination with twooppositely disposed heads, of means to support a bundle of articlesbetween said heads, each head having means moving therewith for holdinga sealing disk in position to be applied to the end of the bundle andalso having folding jaws, means to move the heads toward each otherthereby to press the disks against the ends of the bundle and then toactuate the folding jaws to "fold the peripheral portion of the disksover against the sides of the bundle.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with twooppositely disposed heads, each having folding jaws, of means to supporta bundle of articles between the said heads, each head having meansmoving therewith to support a sealing disk in position to be affixed tothe end of the bundle, a presser member yieldingly carried by each head,means to move the heads toward each other thereby to cause the pressermember to press the disks against the ends of the bundle and then toactuate the folding jaws to fold the peripheral portion'of the disksagainst the sides of the bundle.

3. In a device of the class described, theof a head having folding jawscertain of which are provided with a support moving therewith for asealing disk, means to move the head toward the bundle to press thesealing disk against the end of the bundle and then to actuate thefolding jaws tofold the peripheral portion of the disk against the sidesof the bundle.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination with means tosupport a bundle, of a head having folding jaws, certain of which areprovided with means moving therewith to hold in position a disk to beapplied to the end of the bundle, a presser member yieldingly carried bysaid head, means to move the head toward the bundle to cause the pressermember to press the disk against jaws to fold the peripheral portiondisk against the sides of the bundle.

the bundle, andmeans actuated by the movement of the head for operatingthe folfdirfig o t e '5. In a device of the class described, the

combination with means to support a bundle,

of two oppositely disposed heads, each having pivoted folding jaws, oneof which jaws has a ledge extension to form a support for a sealingdisk, means to move the heads toward each other thereby to bring theheads against the ends of the bundle and to bend the peripheral portionofthe disk around the corner of the bundle, and means operated by suchmovement of the head to swing the jaws thereby to press the peripheralportion of the disk against the sides of the bundle.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination with means tosupport a bundle of articles, of two oppositely disposed heads eachhaving pivoted folding jaws, certain of which jaws have a ledgeextension to form a support for a sealing disk, a presser memberyieldingly carried by each head, means to move the heads toward eachother thereby to cause the presser members to press the disks againstthe ends of the bundle and to cause the pivoted aws to bend theperipheral portions of the disks around the corner of the bundle, andmeans actuated by such movement of the head to swing the jaws and causethem to press the folded peripheral portions of the disk against thesides of the bundle.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination with twooppositely disposed heads each having pivoted folding jaws, of means tosupport a bundle of articles between said heads, means to support a diskbetween each head and the corresponding end of the bundle, an actuatinglever connected to one ofthe heads for moving it toward and from the endof the bundle, a pivoted transof said lever and the actuating lever anda connection between the other end of said lever and the other head bywhich said other head will be moved forwardly as the lever turns wherebywhen the actuating lever is operated both heads will be movedsimultaneously toward the ends of the bundle thereby to press the disksagainst the ends of the bundle, and means actuated by such movement ofthe heads to fold the periphpral portion of the disks against the sidesof the bundle.

8. In a device of the class described, the combination with two headseach having folding jaws, of means tosupport a bundle between saidheads, means to support a disk between each head and the correspondingend of the bundle, an actuating lever connected to one head and by whichit is moved toward and from the end of the bundle, a pivotedtransmitting lever, a sliding pivotal connection between the actuatinglever and one end of the transmitting lever, a toggle connection betweenthe other end of the transmitting lever and the other head,whereby'inovement of the actuating lever will move both heads toward thebundle, and means operated by the movement of the heads to cause thepivoted jaws to fold the peripheral portions of the disk against thesides of the bundle.

9. In a device of the class described, the

w combination with two oppositely disposed heads each having foldingjaws, of means to support a bundle between said heads, each head alsohaving means to support a disk in position to be affixed to the end ofthe bundle,

means to move the heads toward the ends of the bundle to press the disksthereagainst and to actuate the jaws to fold the peripheral portions ofthe disks against the sides of the bundle, lifting fingers for liftingthe bundle from its support, and means to actuate said fingers.

10. In a machine of the class described, the combination with twooppositely disposed heads, of means to support a bundle of argsticlesbetween said heads, each head having means moving therewith forsupporting a sealing disk between itself and the end of the bundle,means to move said heads toward each other thereby to press the disksagainst the ends of the bundle, said heads being constructed to fold theperipheral portion of the disk over against the sides of the bundle.

11. In a machine of the class described, the combination with means tosupport a bundle of articles, of a head adjacent one end of said bundle,said head having means moving therewith to support a disk and means tofold the peripheral portion of the disk, and means to move the headtoward the bundle and to actuate the folding instrumentalities of saidhead, whereby the disk will be clamped against the end of the bundle andthe peripheral portion of the disk folded over against the sides of thebundle.

43 In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

BERT R. WILLIAMSON.

